The Chicago Bulls are slowly headed towards a rebuild, as they’ve been trying to find trades for their veteran stars. After letting go of DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso to the Sacramento Kings and the Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively, this summer, up next are Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic.
Renowned NBA insider Marc Stein recently revealed in his column that while the Chicago Bulls are keen to offload LaVine and Vucevic, a trade for the latter is more likely to materialize for this upcoming season because of his smaller contract.
“Vucevic should be far easier for Chicago to trade given that he has just two seasons left on his contract at a total slightly above $41 million, and with proven big men harder to find,” Stein wrote. “The early indications, though, suggest that a move involving the 33-year-old is more likely to materialize during the season than before it.”
As pointed out by Stein, Nikola Vucevic is set to make $20 million in 2024-25 and roughly $21.4 million in 2025-26 before hitting unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2026.
The Chicago Bulls missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. They have only made the postseason once since trading Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2017.
Nikola Vucevic’s potential landing spots if the Chicago Bulls trade him
Nikola Vucevic is coming off a solid 2023-24 campaign, averaging 18.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 48.4 percent from the field in 76 regular season games.
Despite getting up there in age, the 33-year-old remains a double-double machine, so he could be a big addition to a playoff contender or a rebuilding squad.
Vucevic has been linked to the New York Knicks because of the team’s lack of center depth since Isaiah Hartenstein left in free agency to join the Oklahoma City Thunder.
On the other hand, the Atlanta Hawks could also consider swapping Clint Capela for Nikola Vucevic.
